Climbing the Knife Edge of Katahdin

Taking the Knife Edge Trail to the summit of Katahdin, Maine’s tallest peak, is no easy feat. This challenging route is both treacherous and rewarding.

Back in 2018, I climbed to the top of Katahdin and finished my Appalachian Trail thru-hike. Now, several years later, I returned to Baxter State Park to challenge myself once again!

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Baxter State Park

Perhaps just as hard as climbing Katahdin is getting there. Located in the middle of nowhere Maine, Baxter State Park has a number of rules and regulations that must be followed. The park offers limited parking permits each day that are reserved in advance, with a handful available first-come-first serve the day of. With all these reservations booked, we decided to try for a campsite instead. Campers do not need a parking reservation as they are already in the park.

Just before entering the state park, we passed over Abol Bridge, which marks the beginning of the 100 Mile Wilderness for southbound Appalachian Trail hikers or the end for those heading toward Katahdin. I remember all too well crossing that bridge on foot, just one day away from finishing my 2,200 mile hike that began in Georgia. Here is a photo of me from 2018 while on the AT, as well as one from my recent trip.

Unfortunately, the only campsite available was on the opposite side of the park from our trailhead. Nevertheless, we drove through the remote forests of Maine, 45 minutes from the nearest town of Millinocket. It was a pleasant evening as we cooked dinner and filtered water in a large, lawn beside the river. There is no potable water in the park, so visitors must filter their own.

Climbing Katahdin

Despite not needing a parking reservation, there are still limited parking spaces available for campers in the park. In order to secure a spot, we woke up at 5am and started packing up camp. Our campground was an hour drive down winding gravel roads to reach Roaring Stream campground and the trailhead. At 6am the park opens its gates to all those with a parking reservation, so we needed to beat them to the parking lot at Roaring Stream. Our early wakeup paid off and we snagged a coveted parking spot at the trailhead, accompanied by many others. The lot was already more than half full. We signed the logbook at the nearby ranger station and began hiking down the Helon Taylor Trail which would eventually join the Knife Edge Trail.

The trail was quite easy but rocky for the first bit, and then gradually began climbing through the woods. We spotted a moose which was incredible, as I never saw one while hiking the Appalachian Trail. Eventually, the trail headed above treeline and we hiked on exposed rocks. It was a slow go as we gained elevation quickly, heading up to Pamola Peak. Baxter Peak is the name of the entire mountain which is comprised of several peaks, including Pamola, with Katahdin being the tallest summit.

Knife Edge Trail

The summit of Pamola Peak marked the end of the Helon Taylor Trail and the beginning of the Knife Edge Trail. On the AT, I descended from Katahdin via the Knife Edge as the AT actually takes a different route up the mountain. I remembered how treacherous and scary the ridge was with my sore and wobbly legs, exhausted from 4 months of hiking. This time, my legs were fresh, but we soon faced the first challenge.

The Knife Edge Trail essentially follows an exposed and incredibly rocky ridge 1.5 miles to the summit of Katahdin. The mountain falls away on either side of the ridge, dropping straight down. But before hikers can even get started, there is a steep descent from Pamola Peak maybe fifty or sixty feet down before immediately climbing back up to the ridge. It was the scariest part of the trek, where any slip would surely end in injury.

I watched a hiker turn back, not wanting to risk this first obstacle. Slowly, we picked our way down, using our hands to steady ourselves before climbing up the other side. Phew, that was the hard part. Afterward, we basically clamored along the ridge, requiring some careful footwork. The main challenge was to not look down!

Katahdin loomed in the distance, seemingly an eternity away, but we slowly moved closer and closer. The weather was great, with a bit of haze but otherwise clear skies.

The rest of the world fell below us with the lakes and forests of Maine carpeting the earth around us. It was such an incredible feeling to be up on the ridge. Eventually we neared the summit of Katahdin where a large rock cairn marks the top of Baxter Peak. Next to the cairn is the wooden sign indicating the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. I stopped to take a picture on the sign, just as I did on the AT.

A number of folks milled about but the real show was watching all of the AT hikers climbing up from the Abol Trail to the summit, completing their incredible journey. Our day hike up Katahdin seemed insignificant compared to their accomplishment. I talked to a few and helped them take their celebratory photos with the sign. We probably spent an hour just sitting up there enjoying the views and the people watching.

Getting Down

Now that the hard part was over, it was time to get down the mountain. The Saddle Trail led gently away from the summit and into the aforementioned saddle between another peak. It was quite rocky but a nice change of pace.

Eventually the Saddle Trail took a sharp turn and descended rapidly into the valley. I thought going down was the easy part, but we were forced to take our time and carefully make our way down. The route was so steep I couldn’t even imagine taking it up the mountain!

The descent was slow but we eventually reached the forest floor and the trail leveled out. We then joined up with the Chimney Pond Trail which meandered pleasantly through the woods, past the beautiful pond, and over some boardwalks. We were pretty tired at this point as it had been a long day with most of the hike exposed to the sun and wind.

After 9 miles of hiking and 8 hours later, we arrived back at the car park. It had been a long hike but incredibly rewarding. The Knife Edge Trail was definitely worth the struggle and I highly recommend this hike. Just make sure you do your research in terms of getting to Baxter State Park as well as parking permits and such.

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